How to make a presentation in five easy steps | Comment faire un exposé en anglais en 5 étapes

Step 1: define the terms of the subject

First you need to define the terms of the topic. (Il faut définir les termes du sujet)

You need to pretend you will be speaking to very small kids who have no idea what you are talking about. Even better, pretend you will be talking to an alien from another planet who has never heard of the subject.

Of course, you can’t cover everything, so you need to indicate which aspects/elements you are going to develop in your introduction. Also, you need to tell your audience what you are going to talk about. In other words, you must introduce the matter /subject.

Finally we will discuss the risks associated with using and abusing virtual reality. (who /for what purpose / benefits/advantages)

Let’s review what the term “virtual reality” actually covers these days."

[ you can include a small quiz on what virtual reality is to engage the audience]

Find a hook (trouvez une accroche)

Review the definitions of the terms you’ve already prepared in step 1 to write the hook.

To find a hook, all you have to do is say either one of the following two things:

The subject is important/interesting because....

ex: Soccer is a great way to gather and federate people around the world. There are more than X teams and players in every country of the world. [include a dynamic map to engage your audience]

The issue presents an apparant paradox, a contradiction because....

ex: Virtual reality is becoming a reality for more and more poeple invading not only our professional lives but also our homes. Yet, it is still associated with gaming and leisure. In real life, and in professional settings, we use virtual reality all the time.

ex: Virtual reality is meant to give you a real-life experience of something that doesn't really exist. It has many application in our daily lives. For instance....

Write what you think about the subject:

“Hook: Virtual reality is becoming more and more important in our lives. Its impact is bigger than we can actually see.

"Combining both the word reality (what you can touch and feel, what exists) with the word virtual may seem odd/weird/strange.

Yet, the association of both word is meant to express that paradox to which technology has brought us.

We no longer need to build stuff to experience what it’s like to use them.

We can pretend we are climbing a mountain, fighting champions, flying planes, performing surgery, all in the comfort of our homes.”

Virtual reality allows us to get a better representation of what we can imagine, without having to actually build it.

We can even pretend we are doing dangerous things while remaining somewhat safe.”

[include fun clip with a person falling after pretending to sit down using a VR headset]

Step 3: the body of the presentation (le corps de votre exposé)

Your presentation needs to contain two to three key statements/information.

All information must be illustrated with an example.

Is virtual reality real? Virtual reality remains virtual for most people

We picture gamers trying an almost real-life version of call of duty or athletes practicing in close to real-life conditions for their next championship.

But to millions, virtual reality remains virtual, something you hear about in the news but never really get the chance to try yourself.

To others, it’s just another expensive gadget.

Is virtual reality useful? Virtual reality has a greater impact than we think on our lives

Virtual reality has been a part of our lives for much longer than we think. It is especially true in the industrial field. Virtual reality is often used for training purposes (medical/flight). For instance, pilots train themselves in flight simulators located in specially designed in-doors cockpits.The immediate benefit/advantage of using virtual reality for training purpose is of course the fact that it eliminates almost all risks associated with on-the-job real life training.

[include a picture of a flight simulator]

Virtual reality has affected the way objects are conceived, and images represented. It has enabled 3D movies and the creation of enhanced content. We use objects and see works of art that have been designed using virtual reality. So even if you are not a geek, chances are you’ve already been exposed to virtual reality. Are there risks associated with virtual reality?

Make sure you know the definition of the vocabulary used in your presentation. / assurez vous de connaitre les définitions et le vocabulaire propre au sujet de votre exposé.

Prepare yourself for questions from your audience. Soyez prêts à répondre aux questions de l'auditoire. For instance, you can’t do a presentation on virtual reality without knowing how to say “casque de réalité virutelle.” You can't talk about your favorite game without explaining its goal and its basic rules.